NEVER TO RETURN
Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Menusa was the 52nd American to die in Iraq; his story is one of nearly a thousand
Matthew B. Stannard, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, September 5, 2004
Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County -- Joshua Menusa ran giggling across the graveyard grass, gawking at a balloon, tugging at the string connecting it to a headstone not far from that of his father, Marine Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Menusa.
He paused at his father's grave, scanning the words and dates chiseled into the marble: "IRAQ KIA, FEB 13 1970 - MAR 27 2003, PURPLE HEART, LOVING HUSBAND & DADDY." Then the green grass and sunshine beckoned again, and the little boy ran laughing, leaving his father's grave behind.
Eighteen months is an eternity when you're not yet 5 years old, a span that can dull the edge of the sharpest pain.
Eighteen months does not seem so long a time to Stacy Menusa, Joshua's mother.
"It's hard to believe it's been a year and a half," she said. "It feels like yesterday."
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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/09/05/MNGJE8KA691.DTLStacy Menusa is the widow of Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Menusa, the 52nd American killed in the Iraq war. Stacy, with son Joshua, now 4½, and other Northern California families who have lost loved ones are moving on; they will meet in San Francisco to share their experiences in a town hall on Thursday.